President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi speaks during a private memorial service for civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters on March 7, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Senate passed a bill Monday on holding referendums in the country, a step that could enable President Felix Tshisekedi to change the constitution and seek a third term.
The Senate vote came three days after anti- and pro-Tshisekedi demonstrators clashed at a protest against the government’s plans to change the constitution, which the opposition condemns as a bid by the president to cling to power.
In office since 2019, Tshisekedi comes to the end of his second — and, under the current constitution, final — five-year term in 2028.
However, the 63-year-old president said last month he would agree to lead the conflict-plagued country for a third term “if the people wish it” after a referendum on reforming the constitution.
